Combination comb and brush



May 19, 1964 E. DENT COMBINATION COMB AND BRUSH Filed May 24, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A; rron/[r United States Patent 3,133,546 COMBINATION COMB AND BRUSH Eric Dent, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, assignor to Valden Company, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Filed May 24, 1961, Ser. No. 112,463 3'Claims. (Cl. 132-120) The present invention relates to hair grooming imple ments, and more particularly to an improved combination comb and brush.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved hair grooming implement whose brush may be separated front) and thereupon cleaned or used independently of the corn Another object of the invention is to provide a combined comb and brush wherein the brush is constructed in such a way that its useful life may approach or even exceed the useful life of the comb.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hair grooming implement of the above outlined characteristics whose component parts may be readily replaced by prefabricated parts of identical dimensions, which requires no special skill or special tools for separation or assembling of its component parts, which is of eye-pleasing appearance, which may be rapidly and conveniently converted for use as a brush independently of the comb or vice versa, which may be produced of readily available materials, and which may be utilized by children and/or grownups of both sexes.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a combined comb and brush which may be manufactured at such a low cost that it may be offered as a gift to purchasers of more expensive toilet articles or other products.

With the above objects in view, the invention resides in the provision of a hair grooming implement which comprises two main components, namely, a comb and a brush. The back support of the comb carries two spaced elongated grooups of teeth which project from its front face, and its rear face is formed with elongated recess means having elongated slot means extending to the front face of the back support intermediate the spaced groups of teeth. The brush comprises a base plate which is inserted into the recess means of the back support and which is provided with bristles projecting through the slot means and into the space between the two groups of teeth. The length of the teeth exceeds the length of the bristles. The base plate of the brush may be removably received or more or less permanently embedded in the recess means of the back support.

The novel features which are considered as character istic of the invention are set forth in particular in the ap pended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following detailed description of certain specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a combined brush and comb embodying one form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged transverse section taken along the line IIIIII of FIG. 2, as seen in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cover for the base plate of the brush forming part of the structure shown in FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of the brush;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary transverse section through a modified brush; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a combined comb and brush which is without a pronounced handle.

Referring now in greater detail to the illustrated embodiments, and first to FIGS. 1 to 3, there is shown a hair grooming implement in the form of a combined comb and brush which comprises two main components, namely a comb A and a brush B. The comb A includes a recessed and slotted substantially oval main body portion or back support 10 rigid and preferably integral with a handle 11 which extends from the rear longitudinal end of the back support and is formed with a ridge 12 extending from the front face thereof. The opposite sides of this ridge 12 may serve as abutments for the thumb and for the index finger of a user to prevent a turning of the implement when the handle is grasped by hand and is put to actual use.

The front face of the back support 10 is integral with two spaced elongated groups of teeth 13, 14 each of which comprises a single row of teeth, and with an additional group of teeth 15 which is disposed at the front longitudinal end of the back support. As shown in FIG. 1, the width of the roots forming part of the teeth 15 increases gradually toward the foremost teeth in the groups 13, 14.

The rear face of the bact support 10 is formed with an elongated, substantially oval recess 16 which opens into a somewhat shorter and narrower substantially rectangular second recess 17, and the latter is formed with a somewhat narrower through slot 18 which extends to the front face of the back support, the slot 18 being enclosed along its entire boundary by material of the back support 10. The recess 17 accommodates the elongated base plate 19 of the brush B, and the bristles 20 of this brush extend through the slot 1% and into the space between the groups of teeth 13, 14. It will be noted that the length of the teeth 13, 14, 15 exceeds the length of the bristles 20. The base plate 19 and the bristles 20 preferably consist of a rubber-like synthetic plastic material, and the comb A preferably consists of a more rigid synthetic plastic substance. The dimensions of the base plate 19 may slightly exceed the dimensions of the recess 17 so that the plate must be forced into the position of FIG. 3 by exertion of slight pressure which is sufficient to hold the brush B in proper position. The forward movement of the plate 19 is limited by the circumferential shoulder defined by the back support between the slot 18 and the inner recess 17.

It is preferred to conceal and to retain the base plate 19 in the recess 17 by an elongated, comparatively rigid cover member C which is snugly received and may be more or less permanently embedded in the outer or rear recess 16 and which may consist of the same material as the comb A. It is often preferred to combine the brush with a differently colored cover C to enhance the appear ance of the implement. The cover is provided with a pair of centering and retaining pins 21 which are receivable in blind bores 22 formed in the shoulder between the recesses 16 and 17 of the back support. If desired, the front face of the cover C may be provided with one or more notches 23 enabling a user to remove the cover with his fingernails if it is desired to use the brush B or the comb A alone, if one of these components requires cleaning, or if one or the other component must be replaced by a new one. Of course, it is equally possible to provide the front face of the cover C with a layer of suitable adhesive so that the cover is more or less permanently secured to and may be inserted and/ or withdrawn together with the brush B. Alternately, the comb A may be combined with a modified brush B of the type shown in FIG. 6, i.e. wherein the base plate 19' and the cover C form an integral unit consisting of a synthetic plastic or other suitable material.

The plate 19 or 19 and/or the cover C or C may be secured to the back support 10 by a layer of adhesive, if desired.

In the illustrated embodiments, the brush B or B is formed with four longitudinally extending rows of bristles 20. FIG. 5 shows that the bristles 20 are of pyramidal shape and of substantially triangular cross-sectional contour. Furthermore, in order to accommodate a large number of such bristles on a comparatively small base plate, one facet or side of each outermost bristle faces a side of a bristle in the adjacent intermediate row, and the bristles in the intermediate rows are preferably staggered with respect to each other in such a way that a portion of each bristle in one intermediate row extends into the triangular space defined by a pair of adjacent bristles in the other intermediate row. In such manner, an exceptionally large number of bristles may be accommodated in the space between the groups of teeth 13 and 14 to insure a very satisfactory brushing action and the removal of all impurities, such as loose hair, dandruff, dust and the like.

An important advantage of the improved implement is that the brush B or B may be inserted or withdrawn from the rear face of the back support 10. This insures that a clumsy person will not break the teeth 13, 14 or 15 during insertion or removal of the brush, and the likelihood that the user would hurt his hand by the tips of the teeth during insertion or removal of the brush is completely eliminated.

The teeth 15 are utilized as a means for combing the eyebrows, the sideburns and/ or the mustache. As shown in FIG. 1, the spacing between the teeth in each of the groups 13 and 14 is such that the string of hairs passing between a pair of adjacent teeth may be brushed by a plurality of bristles 2-0 to insure a satisfactory hair combing and brushing action. Since the bristles are preferably integral with the base plate of the brush B or B, the useful life of such a brush is much longer than the life of brushes whose bristles are merely anchored in the base plate. In fact, the bristles of the type shown in FIG. 5 actually constitute several rows of elastic teeth so that the implement of this invention may be called a comb within a comb. The cleaning of a rubber brush is much more convenient than the cleaning of hairlike bristles of the type customarily utilized in a brush.

FIG. 7 shows a hair grooming implement whose comb A is without a handle and wherein a group of teeth 15. 15a is provided at each longitudinal end of the back support 10. Otherwise, the construction of this implement is identical with that of the combined comb and brush shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The purpose of the teeth 15, a at both longitudinal ends of the back support 10' is to insure that the user need not check whether or not one group of such teeth is in proper position when he grasps the back support with his hand in order to comb his eyebrows or his mustache.

It will be readily understood that each of the groups 13 and 14 may consist of two or more elongated rows of teeth which may but need not be transversely aligned with each other, as well as that the number of rows of bristles 20 may be more or less than four, depending on the desired dimensions and on the intended use of the implement.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic and specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is:

l. A hair grooming implement, comprising a comb including an elongated back support member having a front face, a rear face, and comprising two spaced elongated groups of teeth projecting from said front face, said back support member having an elongated first recess in said rear face thereof, an elongated second recess formed Within said first recess, and an elongated through slot formed in said second recess and extending to said front face between said spaced groups of teeth, said slot being enclosed along its entire, boundary by the material of said back support member; a brush having a base plate received in said second recess and bristles integral therewith and projecting from said base plate, through said slot and between said groups of teeth, the length of said bristles being less than the length of said teeth; and a cover member received in said first recess for retaining the base plate in said second recess, one of said members having bore means and the other of said members comprising pin means extending into said bore means for retaining said cover member in said first recess.

2. A hair grooming implement, comprising a comb including an elongated back support member having a front face, a rear face, and comprising two spaced elongated groups of teeth projecting from said front face, said back support member having an elongated first recess in said rear face thereof, an elongated second recess formed 'within said first recess, and an elongated through slot formed in said second recess and extending to said front face between said spaced groups of teeth, said slot being enclosed along its entire boundary by the material of said back support member; a brush having a base plate received in said second recess and bristles integral therewith and projecting from said base plate, through said slot and between said groups of teeth, the length of said bristles being less than the length of said teeth; a cover member received in said first recess for retaining the base plate in said second recess; corresponding projection and depression means on said cover member and support member for retaining said cover member in said first recess of said support member.

3. A hair grooming implement according to claim 1, wherein both said support member and said brush consist of synthetic plastic material and the synthetic plastic material of which said support member consists is more rigid than the synthetic plastic material of which said brush consists.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 75,421 Hayward Mar. 10, 1868 2,238,603 Runnels Apr. 15, 1941 2,796,071 Takehana W June 18, 1957 

1. A HAIR GROOMING IMPLEMENT, COMPRISING A COMB INCLUDING AN ELONGATED BACK SUPPORT MEMBER HAVING A FRONT FACE, A REAR FACE, AND COMPRISING TWO SPACED ELONGATED GROUPS OF TEETH PROJECTING FROM SAID FRONT FACE, SAID BACK SUPPORT MEMBER HAVING AN ELONGATED FIRST RECESS IN SAID REAR FACE THEREOF, AN ELONGATED SECOND RECESS FORMED WITHIN SAID FIRST RECESS, AND AN ELONGATED THROUGH SLOT FORMED IN SAID SECOND RECESS AND EXTENDING TO SAID FRONT FACE BETWEEN SAID SPACED GROUPS OF TEETH, SAID SLOT BEING ENCLOSED ALONG ITS ENTIRE BOUNDARY BY THE MATERIAL OF SAID BACK SUPPORT MEMBER; A BRUSH HAVING A BASE PLATE RECEIVED IN SAID SECOND RECESS AND BRISTLES INTEGRAL THEREWITH AND PROJECTING FROM SAID BASE PLATE, THROUGH SAID SLOT AND BETWEEN SAID GROUPS OF TEETH, THE LENGTH OF SAID BRISTLES BEING LESS THAN THE LENGTH OF SAID TEETH; AND A COVER MEMBER RECEIVED IN SAID FIRST RECESS FOR RETAINING THE BASE PLATE IN SAID SECOND RECESS, ONE OF SAID MEMBERS HAVING BORE MEANS AND THE OTHER OF SAID MEMBERS COMPRISING PIN MEANS EXTENDING INTO SAID BORE MEANS FOR RETAINING SAID COVER MEMBER IN SAID FIRST RECESS. 